


Constellations

by bowlingfornerds



Series: long fics [26]
Category: The 100
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, I promise that if you stick with it you'll understand, Parallel Universes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 18:51:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8338822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowlingfornerds/pseuds/bowlingfornerds
Summary: “The idea is that there are multiple universe out there, all parallel,” he explained. “And in each universe, something slightly differently might happen, changing all the events that correlate.”“Like the butterfly effect,” Jasper chipped in. Monty nodded.“Exactly. So, let’s say that I have a drink in a bar in one universe. In another, I might decide to go for a second, while in another, I might choose a different bar – altering the course of events.”
-
Amongst parallel universes, we follow Bellamy and Clarke.





	

**Author's Note:**

> ALRIGHT  
> I'm going to try and make sense right here, right now:
> 
> The format is explained through the summary. In that, every section is a brief glimpse into another universe, where events happen in a slightly different way. However, it should be clear where the story goes, and you should be able to tell which universes we're actually sticking to, just because it's a logical route (I'd like to think).
> 
> This entire idea is based off of a play that I saw in June 2015, called Constellations. It started a lady who's in Sherlock, and a man who was in Robin Hood, and it was wonderful. It changed my life, genuinely. I've been writing it since then, so in the past fifteen/sixteen months, I've been on-and-off writing this fanfic. I really, greatly hope that you enjoy it, and that you understand it.
> 
> I tried really, really hard on this one.

Clarke slammed her hand on the snooze button four times on the 25th of January. She was late for work.

\--

Clarke hit the snooze button once and was dressed promptly, but her roommate Raven was swearing from her bedroom.  
“Clarke?” She called out. Clarke checked the time. She would be late to work.  
“Yeah?”  
“Can you help me?” Clarke nudged open Raven’s bedroom door, and found her fumbling with her leg brace. “I think it’s broken.”  
“You never need help,” she said, kneeling down by the bed, and pulling on the straps.   
“I think I might need it,” Raven admitted. Clarke refused to leave her best friend if she was having some new realisation of her life. She was late for work on the 25th of January.

\--

Clarke got up on the first ring of the alarm, the radio announcing the date with a smile in their voice, although she was sure they were as pissed about the time as she was.  
“Good morning, it’s seven AM on the 25th of January, and we are looking at bright sunshine and some great songs to get you through the morning…”  
She left a few minutes before Raven woke up, and descended the stairs, careful of her heels. She hated wearing them to work – but it came with the job.  
She jumped in her car, driving over to Griffin Enterprises – her father’s company, and parked in her regular spot. Carefully but with her head up, she walked over to the building. It was twenty three stories high, made of glass and concrete and definitely used up far too much energy, but she was working on reducing the last one.  
Just as she hit the pavement, the revolving door only two metres away, someone ran into her.  
“Shit!” The voice said, as she toppled to the floor, unbalanced in her heels. Her bag fell with her, and a few folders slid out. The man made work of first taking Clarke’s hand before picking up her things. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “Are you okay?” Clarke hadn’t had her morning coffee – Raven had broken the machine the night before. Without coffee, she was known to be a nightmare.  
She barely glanced at him, snatching her bag back.  
“Look where you’re going next time.” She stalked off into the building, aware of the slight rip in her skirt.

\--

The night before, Raven didn’t touch her coffee machine, so Clarke was able to have a good cup before she left, feeling alert and refreshed.  
The man bumped into her, and her things went flying.  
“Shit!” he said. There was a slight ripping sound in her skirt, but she focused on the hand, pulling her back up. “I’m so sorry,” the man continued, leaning down and picking up her bags, slotting the folders inside. “Are you okay?” Clarke looked up at him, smiling at the freckles and the naturally tan skin.  
“Uh, yeah,” she replied. He nodded.  
“Sorry again. I hope you’re okay.” She nodded once more, affirmative, before he walked around her, and headed off back down the street. Clarke watched for a few long moments before heading inside.

\--

“Are you okay?” The man said, handing back her bag. She nudged the folders inside, before looking to him. Her eyes instantly lit up, noting that it wasn’t a bad day to be knocked down by an attractive stranger. His hair curled at the edges and the worried look in his eye was charming.  
“Yes, thank you,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for picking up my bag.”  
“No problem,” he smiled. “Sorry for knocking you over.”  
“Don’t worry about it.”  
The man continued on his way down the street and Clarke went into her office building.

\--

“Sorry for knocking you over,” the man apologised. Clarke noted his smile, and ducked her head – he really was cute. She sighed, noticing the rip in her skirt.  
“Shit,” she muttered, thumbing at it.  
“Oh, fuck,” the man said. “I’m really sorry about that. It looks expensive.” She shrugged.  
“No, it’ll be fine. I’ll buy another.” She glanced up at the man, noting his raised eyebrows.  
“My mother was a seamstress,” he told her. “I can get that sorted for you – good as new.” She eyed him for a moment, carefully. He raised his hands up, as if in surrender. “I want to make it up to you.” Her lips tugged into a smile, of which he mirrored.  
“How about I give you my number then?” She asked. “And we can arrange a time?” The smile on his face grew larger and he dug into his pocket, producing his phone. First he clicked at the buttons, before handing it over.  
She typed in her name – Clarke – and then her number, before handing it back. He took a glance at the screen.  
“Nice to meet you, Clarke,” he said. “I’m Bellamy.”  
She smiled at him. “Nice to meet you, too, Bellamy.”  
“I’ll call you.” He then went around her with a smile, and Clarke watched for a few moments before heading into the building.  
Up on level eighteen, she dumped her things at her desk, before moving through until she found Monty. He was working on some theory she couldn’t understand, even when he tried to dumb it down for her. Jasper sat next to him, chucking paper balls at his head.  
“A little early for that?” She asked as she joined them.  
“Never too early for this,” Jasper replied with a grin. She heaved into a chair by Monty, glancing at his work.  
“Explain it to me?” She asked. Monty shrugged and nodded at the same time. Clarke rarely understood, but she had given her number to an attractive man and she felt hopeful.  
“The idea is that there are multiple universe out there, all parallel,” he explained. “And in each universe, something slightly differently might happen, changing all the events that correlate.”  
“Like the butterfly effect,” Jasper chipped in. Monty nodded.  
“Exactly. So, let’s say that I have a drink in a bar in one universe. In another, I might decide to go for a second, while in another, I might choose a different bar – altering the course of events.” Clarke nodded slowly, actually understanding for once.  
“That’s really cool, Monty,” she smiled. He nodded.  
“I know.”

\--

“That’s really cool, Monty,” she smiled. He grinned at her.  
“I know, right? There are just so many applications for it. Like, in those other universes, what if the planets work differently? What if the temperature is different and global warming doesn’t exist there?” Clarke raised her eyebrows.  
“Is this supposed to be put into practice, though?” He shook his head.  
“No, it’s just a theory.”  
“Then what’s the point?” Monty paused before shrugging.  
“I get paid for it.” She frowned, and was called out of the office a moment later to go into a meeting. She slumped into the conference room, Monty’s words still on her mind, and didn’t pay attention for a little while.  
“Clarke?” Her father snapped his fingers in her face. She jumped back.

“What? Yes?” All of the eyes in the room were on her. She noticed her mother’s face, disapproving, next to Jaha, almost glaring. Shit, she was in for a long meeting.

\--  
“Then what’s the point?” Clarke asked. Monty paused before shrugging.  
“It’s amazing to think about,” he smiled. “And if I could prove it to be true? There are unlimited possibilities, Clarke!” She smiled at her friend, and was called in to her meeting a few minutes later.  
She sat in her chair, listening as her father droned on over finances and the new tech, and Jaha gave her a smile on the way out.

\--

That evening she received the phone call from Bellamy.  
“Hey, Clarke?” He asked. She smiled, remembering the voice.  
“The one and the same.” She hoped around, trying to pull off her heels, having only just walked through the front door.  
“It’s Bellamy – I was hoping to talk to you about meeting up soon?” She smiled, chucking the heel onto the sofa. She was weaselling the other one off of her foot, when her balance went off. Clarke grasped for the sofa, narrowly missing it and landing on the floor heavily.  
“Shit!” She cried out. A pain throbbed in her ankle. “Fuck.”  
“Clarke?” Bellamy’s voice seemed far away, and she heard Raven moving through her bedroom to find the commotion. But Clarke didn’t need her to confirm anything. Her ankle was broken.  
“Fuck,” she hissed.

\--

Clarke hopped about, pulling the first heel off of her foot.  
“It’s Bellamy,” he said through the phone. Clarke smiled. “I was hoping to talk to you about meeting up soon?” She paused for a moment.  
“Yeah, that sounds great.” She sat on the back of the sofa to pull the other heel off, and carried them between her fingers into her bedroom.  
“So, it’s Wednesday, so I was thinking Friday night?” She smiled. He couldn’t see that.  
“Friday sounds great.”

\--

On Friday night, she arrived early at the bar. The man behind the counter passed her a drink and Bellamy joined her soon after. They smiled at each other in greeting.  
“First thing’s first,” he said, pulling his backpack off and dumping it by his feet as he sat on a stool next to her. “The skirt. Because I’ll feel terrible for misleading you into a date, if we don’t sort that out.” Clarke grinned at him, producing the skirt, neatly folded, from her bag. He carefully slid it into his backpack before smiling.  
The talked about nothing and everything – their lives, jobs, friends. She saw him raise his eyebrows at her when she said about her job at Griffin Enterprises. She decided to avoid her last name, after that. He seemed a little bias against the whole CEO, board of directors, rich people sort of thing. And she liked talking to him.  
He kissed her outside the bar, and they drove home separately, a smile planted on her face, and a text from him on her phone to check that she got home safe before she reached the front door.

\--

“I’m a History Professor,” he said at the bar, taking a swig of his beer. “What about you?” Clarke smiled, impressed with his job. She always liked History.  
“Griffin Enterprises,” she said, looking to her drink and not catching the look on his face. “Board of directors and stuff.” She glanced back, and his face was impassive, as if he didn’t have any emotions concerning her job. She didn’t really understand why, but she thought it might have something to do with the money? Or the skirt? She wondered if it was the skirt of it all.  
When they left, he kissed her cheek and said he’d call her about the skirt when it was done. She got a call two weeks later.

\--

“I’m a History Professor,” he told her at the bar. She raised her eyebrows.  
“What period?”  
“Ancients, mainly. Romans, Greeks, Egyptians – and, you know, all of those lost civilisations that you probably don’t remember the names of.” They smiled at each other.  
“I prefer the Renaissance, myself,” she told him with a smile. He raised his eyebrows this time.  
“Really?” She nodded.  
“It’s the art that does it for me. And, well, the Egyptians weren’t the greatest with bodily proportions.” Bellamy laughed.  
“Neither were the Greeks or Romans,” he agreed. “So, what do you do?” She shrugged.  
“I’m at Griffin Enterprises,” she replied.  
“The science place?” She smiled, rolling her eyes.  
“Bio-technology and development, yes,” she replied.  
“How did you end up there?” She shrugged.  
“Studied biology at university, and it helps if your parents are on the board.” He raised his eyebrows, a slightly guarded expression on his face.  
“They’re on the board?”  
“My dad created the company,” she admitted with a sigh, draining her drink in one.  
“Clarke Griffin?” She nodded. “Shit. So, you’re like, super smart and super powerful?” She shrugged.  
“Not super.”  
“But you’re one of those bad ass bosses in tall buildings that command respect?” He asked with a smile. She shrugged, looking away again as her face heated up.  
“I guess,” she replied. When she glanced back, he was grinning.  
“That is fucking hot.”

\--

Clarke’s car broke down, half way to Grounders. She pulled over to the side of the road, groaning and slamming her head back on the seat. What a Friday night this was turning out to be.  
She walked out to the front of the car, lifting the hood and coughing into the smoke that poured out. Clarke swore under her breath as she called AAA and told them she needed assistance. Then she phoned Bellamy.  
“Hey, Clarke, we’re not due to meet for another twenty minutes,” he said, picking up the phone. Clarke nodded. He couldn’t see that.  
“I know, my car broke down,” she told him. “There’s practically a bonfire in the engine.”  
“Well, we can reschedule, if you want?”

\--

“My car broke down,” she sighed. “There’s practically a bonfire in the engine.”  
“Have you called assistance?”

\--

“My car broke down. There’s practically a bonfire in the engine.”  
“Well, I could pick you up, if you want?” Clarke smiled a little.  
“It wouldn’t be too much trouble?” He laughed a little down the line.  
“I’m planning to meet you anyway. Just tell me the location.”  
Bellamy arrived fifteen minutes later, about the same time as the road-side assistance, and pulled faces behind the man’s back to make her laugh. She rolled her eyes with a grin, and let him continue – because he was cute, and the assistance guy was boring her.  
She barely paid attention to the actual issue in the engine, just the price of it to fix, and she waved her hand over it with a sigh.  
“Please just get my baby up and running again,” she told the man. Bellamy waited until the guy had gone, towing the car, before smiling at her.  
“To Grounders?” He asked. She shrugged with a smile.  
“Sounds great.” Bellamy opened her door for her, and shut it behind her. They drove in silence for a minute or two before he spoke.  
“Do you know what the problem was with the car?” He asked.  
“No clue. Something engine related,” she smiled. Bellamy chuckled, turning a corner.  
“How much is it gonna cost to get it running again?” He asked next. She shrugged.  
“I don’t know. It’s a company car, they’ll figure it out.” Bellamy raised his eyebrows with a smirk, but didn’t comment on it. They made it to Grounders, and he paid for her drink. She first handed over the skirt, and then they made polite conversation. She learnt about his sister, Octavia, and the fond smile on his face when he spoke of her showed Clarke they were close.  
They traded stories of work and university – he was a History Professor, and she studied biology at university – originally Pre-Med, but changed directions with her course. After their third drink each, the stories were less conversational, and more interesting.  
“You see that sign? No motorbikes on the counter?” Bellamy asked, pointing to the green and white sign at the end of the bar. Clarke all but snorted.  
“Yeah? That’s a gag sign, right?” He shook his head.  
“They had to put it up because of me,” he grinned. Clarke’s eyes widened for a moment.  
“Seriously? You rode a motorbike on the counter?” He shrugged.  
“Wasn’t my greatest of ideas.”  
At the end of the night, he drove her home, going fairly slowly as she giggled because he was way too drunk to actually be driving.  
“I can do this,” he told her, slurring his words a little. “Just don’t distract me.” Clarke laughed as he turned the corner onto her road at the pace of a snail.  
“I’ll make it there for sure,” she agreed. “Like, next year.” Bellamy rolled his eyes, still smiling.

\--

“You act like your work’s more important than me!” He yelled, stomping across their apartment.  
“I don’t, Bell! Don’t say that.”  
“All you can talk about is that fucking promotion. Did you forget that Octavia had a rehearsal wedding tomorrow?” Clarke stopped, staring at Bellamy across the room. She had forgotten.

\--

“I’ll make it there for sure,” she agreed. “Like, next year.” Bellamy rolled his eyes, still smiling. He parked the car outside her apartment building, and Clarke looked from it to him. “You want to come up?” She asked. Bellamy paused, before shaking his head.  
“I shouldn’t.”  
“You’re very drunk,” she told him. “You’ll get yourself killed.”  
“I’m fine,” he promised. But his words slurred and Clarke wasn’t an idiot.  
“Come on. We won’t do anything – just sleep, okay?” He eyed her for a moment before sighing, recognising defeat.  
“Okay.”

\--

“I shouldn’t.”  
“You’re very drunk,” she told him. “You’ll get yourself killed.”  
“I’m fine,” he promised. Clarke eyed him for a moment before sighing. They didn’t know each other well enough for her to pester him about this, did she?  
“If you’re sure.”  
“I am,” he smiled. She kissed him on the cheek.  
“Goodnight, Bellamy.”

\--

Clarke led him upstairs, both off balance and nudging into each other. They made it up the stairs, only tripping once, and to her front door. Bellamy stood behind her, laughing, as she couldn’t get the key in.  
“Shh,” she told him. “My roommate’s asleep.” She fiddled with the lock for a while longer, before the door flew open. For a moment, Clarke didn’t register that she hadn’t been the one to open it, and then she looked at Raven, who was watching with a raised eyebrow.  
“Morning,” she said, amused.  
“It’s night,” Clarke told her, taking Bellamy’s hand and leading him into the apartment, and past Raven.  
“Actually it’s two in the morning.”  
“That’s still night time,” Bellamy told her with a shrug. Raven shut the door behind them.  
“Who’s this?” She asked.  
“Bellamy Blake,” he introduced himself, turning from Clarke to give her roommate a handshake. Raven just looked at him and sighed.  
“Go to bed,” she told them. “And make good choices. I’m right next door.” Clarke watched her roommate, braceless, limping back to her room and using the walls for support, before turning back to Bellamy.  
“We should sleep.” He nodded.  
“I can take the sofa,” he told her, rubbing the back of his neck. She shook her head.  
“I have a big bed. And the sofa’s super uncomfortable to sleep on.” He didn’t get the chance to argue, because she was already dragging him into her bedroom, and flopping onto the bed.

\--

Bellamy kissed her the moment they were in the bed. Clarke couldn’t help but kiss back.

\--

They fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

\--

He was gone when she woke up.

\--

“Morning, Princess,” Bellamy smiled, and Clarke rubbed her eyes. She and Bellamy were somewhat tangled in the bed; and she found a surprising amount of comfort in not being able to tell where she ended and where he began.  
“Hi,” she replied, before pushing her face back into the pillow. He chuckled, slowly extracting himself from her and stretching once he was up. Clarke may or may not have peeked, looking up from the pillow to see a sliver of his stomach. She pushed herself out of bed a moment later.  
Only now did she register the hangover that was pounding in her head and groaned. She noticed, as she left her bedroom that their clothes were still intact, and she was partly grateful for that – that nothing happened. On the other hand, Bellamy Blake was a very attractive man, and she wondered why she missed the opportunity.  
He followed her out, and Raven still seemed to be in bed as they made coffee and ate toast.  
“I don’t usually get drunk,” he told her, finishing off his first coffee and moving over to the pot to refill it.  
“No?”  
“Nah, and I definitely don’t let other people let me drive when I’m drunk,” he told her with a pointed look.  
“You’re here, not dead on the side of the road, right?” She said, raising a pointed eyebrow. He laughed and huffed at the same time and she grinned at that.

\--

Clarke met Octavia Blake no less than two weeks later.  
She and Bellamy were on the sofa, her legs either side of his waist, and her lips locked with his. Clarke would rate this moment a solid nine out of ten – complaining that the only bad factor was that they were still both wearing clothes.  
The rating went down when the door to his apartment flung open.  
The girl that walked in was nothing other than gorgeous. Clarke registered long brown hair and endless legs, and a large smile. After that it was raised eyebrows and an unimpressed look. Bellamy sighed, flopping back on the sofa.  
“Why are you here, O?” He asked, covering his eyes with his arm.  
“Why are you making out on the sofa?” She countered.  
“Because I own the place, and can therefore make out with anyone I want on the sofa,” he replied. “As long as they want to, as well,” he added as an afterthought, sending a quick smile to Clarke, who was still sitting on top of him.  
The girl huffed, moving through the apartment and landing herself in one of the armchairs.  
“Is this another conquest, because I don’t want to meet her if she is,” the girl said. Clarke swallowed, looking down at Bellamy where he rolled his eyes.  
“No, O,” he told her. “I haven’t been conquering anyone in a long time.” Octavia nodded once.  
“Good. I’m Octavia,” she said, saying the last part to Clarke with a beaming smile. Clarke sent a nervous glance towards Bellamy as she slowly crawled off of him and onto the cushions again.  
“Clarke,” she replied.  
“And what do you do, Clarke?” Octavia asked. She hesitated, with a confused look. “What is your occupation?” Octavia said instead, with raised eyebrows.  
“Board of directors at Griffin Enterprises.” The girl’s raised eyebrows turned to ones of shock, sending a glance to her older brother first.  
“How the hell did you land that?” She asked. Clarke shrugged.  
“Four years at university, and genius parents,” was the answer. Octavia looked at her brother, unsure. Bellamy shrugged, looking back up to Clarke.  
“Her parents own the company,” he told her. Octavia’s mouth made an ‘O’.

\--

Octavia walked in as Bellamy was fucking Clarke on the sofa. She immediately turned around and shut the door.

\--

“Are you staying for dinner?” Octavia asked, wandering into the kitchen a little while later.  
“Sure?” Clarke replied. She didn’t sound very sure, though.  
She’d only known Bellamy for about two weeks – but he smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, kissing her temple, and suddenly Clarke was very happy where she was.

\--

“How long have you guys been dating?” Monty asked one night at Grounders.  
“Coming up on two months,” Clarke smiled. Jasper raised his eyebrows.  
“So, we’re about half way along the road to either hear that you’ve been cheated on, or dumped for another girl?”  
Raven slapped at his arm.

\--

“…Or dumped for another girl?” Clarke nodded.  
“Sounds about right.”

\--

“Hey Bell,” Clarke said when she arrived home. Bellamy was lounging across their sofa, feet up on the arm. He didn’t reply. “Hey, Bell,” she tried again, shutting the door behind her. “Are you okay?”  
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But you probably don’t care, anyway.”

\--

Clarke grinned when Bellamy arrived at her apartment. She never tired of the sight of him. And now Raven was out of town for the weekend. The entire weekend.  
“You know we could be having weekend-long hot sex at your place,” she told him as he shut the door behind him. “Hell, we already have.” Bellamy nodded with a smile.  
“I know. But we haven’t had weekend-long hot sex at your place, yet.”

\--

“We’ve been together for almost six months,” Bellamy told her, as they lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Clarke nodded.  
“That we have.”  
“This is probably my longest relationship.”  
“Same here.”  
“Awesome.” They high-fived. “I don’t remember you telling me how your last relationships went.” She shrugged.  
“That’s because I didn’t.”  
Bellamy shifted on his side to look at her, and she sighed before doing the same.  
“Only if you tell me yours,” she bargained. He nodded. “Fine. Last one was a girl – Lexa. She dumped me to get back with her ex-girlfriend, Costia. Very quick break up, very little emotions shown, very many eggs thrown at her house.” Bellamy cracked a smile at that. “And the one before was Finn. I was the other woman, Raven being the original girlfriend.” He raised an eyebrow. “We keyed his car when we found out.”  
Bellamy shifted in the bed, nodding.  
“Only actual girlfriend was Gina,” he told her. “But it was really unsubstantial. She was nice.” Clarke waited for a moment.  
“That’s it?” He shrugged, nodding. “That’s all there was to you guys? Fuck, if we break up, I want a better story than that.” Bellamy raised an eyebrow.  
“If we break up?” He asked. She shrugged.  
“Yeah, like if it happens in the far off future, I want a big romantic story, you know?” Bellamy smiled, gripping at her waist and pulling her on top of him.  
“That could be arranged.”

\--

“I bet you didn’t even remember that Octavia has her rehearsal dinner tomorrow!”  
“Of course I did!” Clarke shot back, though it was a lie. “Bellamy, I don’t put more effort into work than I do with us.”  
“Stop lying, Clarke. You do. You always do.”

\--

Clarke landed on Bellamy’s sofa heavily, sticking her feet up on the end.  
“It’s a long walk,” she told him.  
“You have a car,” he replied, walking out from the kitchen.  
“I’m being eco-friendly.” Bellamy snorted and put in the disc for their film.

\--

“It’s a long walk.”  
“You have a car.”  
“I like walking.”  
“Then don’t complain.”

\--

“It’s a long walk.”  
“How long?”  
“At least twenty minutes.”  
“That’s what cars are for.”

\--

“It’s a long walk.”  
“I know,” he smiled. “I make the same one.”  
He settled down next to Clarke on the sofa.  
“I would prefer not to make that walk,” she told him. He raised his eyebrows.  
“And how do you propose we do that?” He asked. Clarke shrugged.  
Bellamy put in the disc for the film. Half way through, she spoke.  
“We could move in together.”

\--

“We could move in together.”  
Bellamy pressed pause.  
“What?” She shook her head, lying back down against his shoulder. He didn’t seem very happy about the idea.

\--

“We could move in together.” Clarke eventually looked up. Bellamy was already asleep.

\--

“We could move in together.” Bellamy pressed pause on the disc, tapping a little on her skin, where his arm circled her shoulders.  
“We could,” he agreed. Clarke didn’t move for a few moments.  
“It would make sense, financially,” she said eventually. He raised an eyebrow at her.  
“Oh, yeah?” She nodded.  
“Water bills, electricity – we wouldn’t have to drive all the time to see each other.” He nodded, as if he were thinking this through.  
“If that’s the case,” he grinned, pressing his lips to hers. “I think we should.”

\--

“I’m engaged!” Octavia announced at Grounders. Bellamy’s eyes widened and Clarke sat stiffly next to him, grinning, but afraid of his reaction.  
“To Lincoln?” He asked. Octavia rolled her eyes.  
“Duh.” Bellamy nodded, silently.

\--

“To Lincoln?” He asked.  
“Yes, Bell,” Octavia smiled, taking his hands in hers. “Lincoln. The guy who taught me kickboxing, and you agreed you liked, remember?” He sighed before smiling.  
“I remember.” Octavia lit up and Clarke grinned as they hugged.

\--

“Are you okay?” Clarke asked. Bellamy was stretched out across their sofa. He was silent. They’d been living together for a while, and he was slowly retreating. She knew it as well as he did. He took a breath, and his distressed look seemed to fade.  
“Yeah, Clarke, I’m fine. How’s the promotion going?”

\--

“Who knew you had so much stuff?” Bellamy asked, carrying another one of Clarke’s boxes out to the car.  
“I think we all knew that Clarke’s a hoarder,” Raven called after him. They could hear his laugh retreating down the staircase. Raven was sorting through the last of their things, deciding which were Clarke’s and which were hers. Clarke was packing the final boxes, of things that she would need sooner rather than later.  
She got up, though, plopping down next to Raven, and leaning her head on her shoulder.  
“I’m moving out,” Clarke said sadly. Raven just nodded. “We’re not going to be living together anymore.” She sighed. “I don’t know how to live with anyone else.” Raven reached her arm around Clarke’s shoulders.  
“I’ll be honest with you,” she said. “It’s not going to be as great as living with me.” They laughed together, as Octavia appeared in the doorway to the apartment, looking for more boxes to take.  
“Living with Bell kinda sucks,” she agreed, leaning against the sofa. “But he’s also a neat freak, so it’s always going to be clean.”  
“You’re going to need that,” Raven agreed. “You’re a slob.” Clarke laughed, lightly hitting Raven’s arm.

\--

“What is it?” Clarke had stiffened besides Bellamy in Grounders. He must have felt her tense, from the way her body was leaning against his. He looked down at her, concerned, before following the way she was looking. At the end of the bar, stood two tall, lean girls, both as scarily beautiful as the other. “Who are they?”  
“Lexa and Costia,” she replied. Clarke turned, looking away and facing her boyfriend. But he was looking over her head.  
“Which is Lexa?” He asked.   
“Tall, scary, looks like she could bite your head off,” she replied. Bellamy smiled down at her.  
“I still don’t know,” he told her. She rolled her eyes, glancing back.  
“The one on the left.” Bellamy eyed her for a moment, before shrugging.  
“I’m hotter than her,” he said. Clarke laughed, accepting the drinks from the bar tender.  
“You are,” she agreed.  
The two of them turned to walk back to their table, and that’s when it went wrong.  
“Clarke?” She froze, turning towards Lexa, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow.  
“Hey, Lexa,” she replied. Lexa and Costia both walked over, appraising Bellamy in a glance before turning back to the blonde.  
“How have you been?” She asked.  
“Good,” Clarke replied, her body tense. Lexa, as a naturally tense person, didn’t notice this though. “You?”  
“Good. You remember Costia,” she said, pointing to her girlfriend. Clarke nodded.  
“That I do.”  
“And who’s this?” Clarke looked to Bellamy.  
“Bellamy,” she said with a shrug.  
“Are you dating?”  
“Something like that.” She was definite it was Bellamy who stiffened this time, and the conversation was over quickly. The second Lexa and Costia were out of earshot, she turned to him. He was pissed off and she could tell immediately.  
“Something like that?” He asked incredulously. “You are aware that we live together, right?”  
“Bell-“  
“No, are you fucking embarrassed of me or something?” She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off again. “No, I know the answer. It’s ‘something like that’, right?”

\--

“And who’s this?” Clarke looked to Bellamy.  
“This is Bellamy,” she replied. “My boyfriend.” Lexa’s eyebrows went up, though it was a very small amount.  
“Your boyfriend?” She asked. Clarke nodded. Lexa turned to walk away, saying a quick goodbye. But as she went, she took another look at Bellamy. “And here I thought ‘I’ll never be with another man again after this’ was a promise.”  
Bellamy stared at Clarke for a moment, before she shrugged.  
“I changed my mind, I guess.”

\--

“And who’s this?” Clarke looked to Bellamy.  
“This is my boyfriend, Bellamy. Bell, this is Lexa – ex-girlfriend.” Bellamy nodded, putting on a smile.  
“Nice to meet you,” he said.  
“Likewise.”  
Five minutes later, Lexa was back at the bar, and Bellamy was sitting with Clarke in their booth.  
“That was…” Clarke trailed off.  
“Interesting,” Bellamy supplied.  
“I was going to say ‘torture’.”

\--

“When are you coming home, tonight?” Bellamy asked over the phone. Clarke was busy working on her plans to make the company greener – energy consumption was a problem for Griffin Enterprises and everyone knew it.  
“Late, probably,” she told him with a sigh.  
“You keep coming home late.”  
“I know, Bell. But this is important.” She thought she heard him say something, but he covered it up with a cough. “I could get a promotion, Bell.”  
“You’re on the board of directors,” he pointed out. “You don’t need a promotion.”  
“But I want one. If I get this, I can take Sydney’s job, now she’s been fired. Bell, this is almost double the income.”  
“You’re going to run that company one day, why are you doing this?” He asked with a sigh. She shrugged, pressing the phone closer to her ear.  
“Because I want to earn it, Bell.” He just sighed again. “I love you?”  
“I love you, too.” He disconnected straight away.

\--

“Are you sure you want me to wear this?” Clarke asked as she left the dressing room. She stood in front of Octavia with an unsure look on her face. The dress was truly awful. Her boyfriend’s sister considered her for a moment before shaking her head.  
“That’s disgusting, I don’t want that.” Clarke was grateful, but at the same time, this was the sixth bridesmaid dress she’d tried on.  
As she got changed into the next dress, Octavia started talking.  
“So, are you and Bell going to get married any time soon?” Clarke paused for a moment, her mind slipping back to him on the phone, only a few weeks back. Ever since she’d told him about that promotion he was getting more and more stressed. Maybe she should be home more often.  
“I don’t know, O,” she told her, taking the dress off the hanger. It was definitely her fault that Bellamy was in a mood – she knew that much. Maybe the promotion wasn’t worth it.  
“Oh, come on. You guys are perfect for each other.” But Bellamy wouldn’t let their relationship go over a promotion, right? They were perfect for each other. Clarke replied non-committedly, before finishing getting changed.  
“You don’t want to marry my brother?” Octavia asked as she walked out of the changing room. Clarke couldn’t help but stare at the other girl’s open look of disappointment.  
“No, I do, O,” she insisted. “I do. But, I don’t know, we’re having problems right now.” Octavia watched her for a moment, before pointedly looking at the dress.  
“That’s gross, too.” Clarke glanced down at the dress and frowned. It was the exact dress that Octavia had described to her, as the perfect one, in the first place.

\--

“Oh, come on. You guys are perfect for each other.” Clarke hummed for a moment.  
“Yeah, I guess so,” she agreed. “But I don’t know. Marriage…” she trailed off, leaving the dressing room. Octavia was looking at her face, not the dress.  
“Marriage, what? You don’t want to get married?” Clarke shook her head.  
“No, it’s just…” she hummed again. “Not right now.” That was the only way she could explain it – she wanted to marry Bellamy, just not this Bellamy; not the one who was distant or just argued with her. Octavia pursed her lips, studying her face.  
“I don’t know,” she said, her eyes darting to the dress. “Try something else on.”

\--

“So a little birdy tells me,” Bellamy mused as Clarke leaned into him, on their sofa. “That you don’t want to get married.” Inwardly, Clarke swore Octavia out.  
“I never said that,” she replied, putting a finger up.  
“So you do want to get married?” She shrugged.  
“Someday, yeah. Just… just not right now.” Bellamy nodded silently.

\--

“I bet you didn’t even remember it was Octavia’s wedding rehearsal tomorrow!” He all but yelled. Clarke paused. She had forgotten, yes. “Is this even serious to you?” Bellamy asked, lowering his voice.  
“Of course it is!” She replied indignantly.  
“Not the wedding,” he said. “Us. Because I’ve wanted to marry you for so long – hell, we’ve been together for almost two years. But you’re not even putting half of the effort into this relationship. I get that you don’t want to get married right now, but-“  
“Bell!” She cried. “I am putting effort into this relationship, and into you. But you’re always so distant-“  
“Because you care about your work more than us!”

\--

“Oh, come on. You guys are perfect for each other.” Clarke smiled into the dressing room mirror. It wasn’t the dress – although that was admittedly very pretty. She liked hearing that they were good together. Perfect together.  
“Yeah, I guess so,” she said, leaving the dressing room.  
“Oh,” Octavia breathed, smiling. She was staring at the dress with a wide grin on her face. “Bridesmaid dresses have been chosen. No contest.”

\--

“So a little birdy tells me that you look great in your bridesmaid dress,” Bellamy said, smiling into her shoulder.  
“I happen to agree with that bird,” Clarke replied. “I look awesome.” Bellamy studied her for a moment, before pressing a kiss to her lips.  
“You’re getting into this whole ‘wedding’ thing, aren’t you?” He mused. She rolled her eyes, preferring to lean back into the kiss with him.  
“I like weddings,” she said in between kisses. “Sue me.”

\--

Clarke crept in, shutting the front door quietly. The click sounded far too loud though, in the early hours of the morning. She slid off her shoes, carefully placing her bag on the sofa and moved as silently as possible into their bedroom.  
But Bellamy was awake.  
He was reading through some test papers when she walked in.  
“Morning,” he said.  
“It’s still night,” she replied, pushing off her trousers.  
“Three AM. Morning.” He looked back to his papers as Clarke pulled her top off. Then she climbed into bed in her underwear.  
“You waited up,” she commented, slipping under the covers. He nodded.  
“I did.” Clarke moved down in the bed, pressing her face into the pillow.  
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. The only recognition of Bellamy hearing her was his hand, gently stroking her hair. “I didn’t mean to overrun work that long.” He just nodded, placing the papers to one side and sliding down into bed. The light went out and he didn’t say a word.

\--

Clarke was out of bed early to get to work. Bellamy was still asleep when she pressed a kiss to his forehead and left.

\--

Clarke got out of bed early and left a post-it note on the counter. I love you, it read. I’ll try and get home for dinner tonight. Eight PM at the latest.

\--

Clarke woke up, and turned off the alarm. Beside her, Bellamy stirred but didn’t wake up. She pursed her lips in thought. She could take a day off, right? Clarke sent a quick text saying that she was hideously ill, and snuggled back into the duvet, into Bellamy’s body. She let him tighten his grip around her, and smiled, drifting off back into sleep.

\--

Clarke climbed out of bed when the alarm went off, slamming it as she went. As she collected her car keys from the counter, Bellamy appeared in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes. He yawned and Clarke smiled over to him.  
“Morning, Sleepyhead,” she greeted. Bellamy smiled tiredly, lumbering over to press a stale kiss to her lips.  
“I love you,” he said.  
“I love you, too,” she replied. He intertwined their fingers and squinted at her.  
“Are you going to be home late tonight?” He asked. Clarke nodded.  
“Probably – but I won’t have to do this for much longer?” Bellamy raised an eyebrow. “I heard Jaha saying that they’re going to be looking for a replacement for Sydney at last.”  
“Oh, yeah? When’s that happening?”  
“Next month, I think.”

\--

Clarke returned home in the early hours of the morning. She was angry and bitter, and she slammed the door when she returned and heard Bellamy’s grumbling from the next room over. She yanked her heels off of her feet, dropping them by the door and storming into the bedroom. From their bed, Bellamy looked up. He closed his book and raised an eyebrow at her.  
“What’s wrong?” He asked. It was nearly two AM and Clarke could hear the weariness in his voice.  
“They didn’t give me the promotion,” she groused. Bellamy sat up now.  
“How could they not?” He asked. Clarke shrugged. “Well who did they give it to?”  
“Cage fucking Wallace,” she replied. Bellamy held her while she cried only a few minutes later, and he squeezed her when she needed it, pressing his lips gently to her shoulder, her cheek, her hair.  
By the time Clarke was drifting away to sleep, it was almost five AM and Octavia’s rehearsal dinner was the next day. At least she had that to look forward to.

\--

Clarke returned home at six PM and Bellamy was just starting to cook dinner. He stared, surprised, at her.  
“What?” She asked.  
“You’re home,” he replied. “You’re actually home before ten.” Clarke glanced at the clock and smiled.  
“I’m celebrating,” she told him. “And then this can be a regular occurrence after this.”  
“W-why?” Clarke beamed at her boyfriend.  
“I got the promotion!”

\--

She slammed the door shut. It was two AM and Cage Wallace had cheated her out of the promotion she deserved. Both of her parents were bias when it came to voting for the replacement of Diana Sydney. It just left Thelonious Jaha, Marcus Kane and Carl Emerson. The latter of the three men was a suck up to Dante, Cage’s father, and Jaha hadn’t liked Clarke for a long time, so when Cage applied for the job, it was obvious which way it would go.  
“What the hell?” Bellamy groaned from the bedroom. Clarke yanked her shoes off and entered their room, peeling off her jacket as she went.  
“I didn’t get the fucking promotion,” she bit out, shoving her skirt down her legs and jumping out from it.  
“You didn’t?” Bellamy asked. Clarke shook her head, pulling off her shirt. When she was left in her underwear, she looked at him.  
“Do you know how much effort I put into that promotion? Just to have it stolen from me by Cage fucking Wallace?” Bellamy remained silent and Clarke said a few more choice words before huffing into bed, still in her underwear.  
“What does this mean?” Bellamy asked quietly after a few moments of silence.  
“I don’t know,” she replied bitterly. “I think I’m just going to sleep through the weekend.” They were silent for a while, when Bellamy turned to her again.  
“Does this mean you’re going to be home more often?” Clarke sat up, glaring.  
“Is that what you fucking care about?” She hissed. “Not the fact that I didn’t get the promotion, or that my hard work was wasted, or that I was fucking robbed? Just that I’m home for dinner?” Bellamy shot daggers back at her, shifting to face her in the bed. The light from the lamp lit half of his face in a yellow glow, but Clarke didn’t have the chance to stop and admire the sight of his skin burning beautifully.  
“I care about us,” he retorted. “I care about you not being home much at all, us not seeing each other – I care about me putting more effort into this relationship than you.”  
“That’s not true!” Her blood was boiling and she was high on the adrenaline of anger, and she couldn’t bring herself to come down.  
“Of course it’s true!” Bellamy slipped out of bed, standing in just his pyjama trousers now. Clarke glared, moving out of bed, too. They stood on opposite sides, faces schooled in anger. “You care more about your job and that damn promotion than you do about me!”  
“I care about you plenty!” She yelled, now. Clarke didn’t care that it was two in the morning. “I love you, Bellamy! Of course I care!”  
“Not as much as you do about that damn job!” Clarke scoffed, rolling her eyes. It was as if the past few years meant nothing – or as if he thought they didn’t to her. “I bet you didn’t even remember it’s Octavia’s wedding rehearsal tomorrow!” He all but yelled. Clarke paused. She had forgotten, yes. Everything else was taking precedent – but that promotion. It could have changed things for her. She could have earned her spot in the company. “Is this even serious to you?” Bellamy asked, lowering his voice.  
“Of course it is!” She replied indignantly. “Octavia’s wedding is very important to me –“  
“Not the wedding,” he said. “Us. Because I’ve wanted to marry you for so long – hell, we’ve been together for almost two years. But you’re not even putting half of the effort into this relationship. I get that you don’t want to get married right now, but-“  
“Bell!” She cried, annoyed. He wasn’t understanding. “I am putting effort into this relationship, and into you. But you’re always so distant-“  
“Because you care about your work more than us!” He interrupted. “I’m distant because you’re pushing me away, Clarke! Can’t you even see that?”  
Clarke couldn’t see it. She would never push him away, she would never.   
“I care about us and my work equally,” she replied, cold and emotionless. Her face was blank now, pain bubbling under the surface. She couldn’t believe he’d think those things; Bellamy, the man she loved.   
Bellamy just scoffed, looking away, before turning back to her.  
“I don’t think you do,” he told her, shaking his head. “But even if you cared equally, you forget that I’m a living, breathing person. I love you, Clarke. You’re supposed to care about me, about us more than some stupid job that you’re going to get anyway because it’s in your fucking inheritance.”  
She stared at him, and he stared back.  
He was right.  
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

\--

She stared at him, and he stared back.  
“Fuck you,” she hissed.

\--

She stared at him, and he stared back.  
“Some stupid job?” She asked. “I put my life into that job.”  
“You didn’t have to,” Bellamy replied coldly. “Because you were going to get it whether you did or not. But our relationship – that’s something you could have put your life into.”  
“Could have?” Bellamy nodded and clenched his jaw.  
“As in, it’s a choice. As in, you have to work at it to keep it, Clarke. And you haven’t been. And you’ve been fucking this up since you heard about that promotion – Clarke,” he slammed his eyes shut for a moment, and Clarke could only hear the contrast between her shaky breathing and his long, slow breaths. “I don’t think this is working, is it?”  
There was silence.  
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and Clarke clenched her teeth in an attempt to keep them from falling.  
“No,” she hissed. “You don’t get to do that - you don’t get to break up with me, or end this. That’s not fair.”  
“What’s not fair is that I’m the only one trying in this relationship!” Clarke’s head whipped around as she struggled to gain her bearings. Everything felt off; the world was darkening and closing in on her. She loved Bellamy. She loved him. He couldn’t just end things.

\--

He couldn’t just end things.  
“I’ll try more,” she promised, pleading, begging with him. “I will. Bell, I love you. I love you so much, I can’t lose you.”  
“You’ve been losing me for months,” he replied.  
“I will do anything to get you back. Bellamy, you’re the one for me. I know that. I’ve always known that.” There was something softening in his features, and Clarke knew that she would keep her word. There was no part of her that couldn’t. She loved this man with every inch of her being; her mind always wandered to him; she felt the connection spark in the touch of their fingertips; the red line that connected them was of steel and unbreakable; the universes that shifted for them to be together had fated this, and Clarke knew that she could never defy that.  
“I need you to prove that to me, because I’m not so sure,” he whispered.

\--

He couldn’t just end things. But, well, he could.  
Tears fell down her face and they stared at one another. Bellamy held his resolve, arms crossed tightly across his chest, and Clarke wept.  
“Fine,” she nodded eventually. “Fine, I’ll go somewhere else.” She picked up the closest clothes she could reach and turned, hustling out of their apartment as quickly as she could. Clarke pulled on the clothes as she left. She turned so many times, hoping to see him behind her, but there was no one. The lino in the hallway was cold on her feet, and then the concrete outside scratched at her skin. Clarke looked up at their apartment window, watching from the street as the light in their bedroom flicked off.

\--

She pulled on the clothes as she left. As she reached the staircase, she heard a voice.  
“Clarke,” Bellamy said, his voice weary. She turned to face him, mascara creating dark smudges around her eyes, and hair tangled from where she’d been running her fingers through it. “Come back inside. We’ll figure this out.” He ran a hand across his face and Clarke hesitated before padding slowly towards him.  
“Are you sure?” She asked, almost a whisper, at the door frame. Bellamy nodded, though he didn’t really look like he was definite.  
“We’ll talk about it all in the morning, and sort it out,” he promised.

\--

He couldn’t just end things.  
“Bellamy, please, come on,” she sighed, rubbing her face with her hand. “Don’t say that.”  
“I don’t know what else to say, Clarke!” They were quiet and she sighed, before yawning. The adrenaline had left her body and suddenly she was running on nothing. She just wanted to sleep, wrapped up in the safety of Bellamy’s arms.  
“Say we’ll figure it out in the morning,” she suggested, hoping the fear and pleading in her eyes was coming across. “I can’t lose you, too, Bell. I just can’t.” He stared at her for a while and the seconds that ticked by felt like hours. Eventually, he nodded.  
“Fine,” he agreed, moving back into bed. Clarke followed his lead and they lay on separate sides of the bed that they had shared for so long. Clarke yearned for his touch but stayed unmoving. “Good night, Clarke.”  
“Good night, Bellamy.” He flicked off the light and they were left in the darkness with their thoughts.  
Clarke must have fallen asleep eventually, because she found herself waking up a few minutes before Bellamy’s alarm was set to. She watched for a moment or two, eyes memorising the map of his skin that she’d familiarised herself with so easily. His messy curls that fell across his forehead. The sprinkling of freckles about his cheeks. Thick eyelashes, strong jawline, caramel skin. Everything was so familiar.  
Even so, Clarke climbed out of bed slowly, and got dressed. She left the apartment before his alarm woke him up.

-

Everything was so familiar.  
Clarke waited until the alarm rang out, and he groaned, rolling onto his back to slam a hand down on it. She watched his eyes flicker open, the small smile that graced his face at the sight of her, and then the realisation of what happened dawn on him. The happiness faded and all that was left was the distance between them.  
“Hi,” he said after a beat.  
“Hi,” she replied. They were silent again, just watching each other in the dingy morning light. Bellamy’s hair was all over the place, and his eyes looked weary and tired from too little sleep, but Clarke loved him. She loved him so much, and she wished she’d realised – or at least embraced it – sooner… before she’d let him slip away.  
“Are we going to talk about this?” Bellamy asked eventually, and Clarke gritted her teeth, sniffing.  
“We probably should.” Bellamy nodded and the two of them rolled onto their backs, staring at the ceiling. “You focus more on work than on us,” he started. “I give everything to our relationship, to keeping you, and you don’t do the same.”  
“Bell-“  
“No, Clarke,” he sighed. “Let me talk.” Clarke nodded, shutting her mouth. “It’s like I’m the only one that cares about this relationship anymore, and I know the promotion isn’t on the table anymore, so things might go back to normal, but what happens when you take over the company? Isn’t it going to be like this all over again?”  
There was quiet and Clarke looked over.  
“It… it could be,” she sighed. Bellamy frowned, like his worst suspicion was confirmed, and Clarke wondered if she’d signed their death sentence.

\--

“…Isn’t it going to be like this all over again?”  
There was quiet and Clarke looked over.  
“I would never let that happen again,” she swore. “I know that I messed up, but Bellamy, God, I love you. I won’t make that mistake again.”  
“How can you know?”  
“Because if I’m running the company, I’ll make sure of it. Bell – you mean everything to me, I won’t let it happen.”

\--

“How can you know?”  
“Bell, I’ll make sure of it. Without that promotion, you mean everything-“  
“Clarke,” he interrupted, looking over to her. “Without that promotion, I mean everything?” Clarke sunk her teeth into the inside of her cheek, registering her mistake. “What the fuck, Clarke?”  
“Bell-“  
“No, I can see it,” he said, shoving himself up. “It’s how I thought it was – promotion first, then me as the backup prize when you can’t rise to the standards.” Clarke stared at him in mute horror for a moment as he yanked himself out of bed. “I bet Cage didn’t spend a single late night at the office,” Bellamy said bitterly.  
It was like the world was crashing and burning in front of them.

\--

“…Isn’t it going to be like this all over again?”  
There was quiet and Clarke swallowed. Bellamy sighed.  
“No, Bell,” she said. “I mean, there’s a chance that it will – but I know what I’ve done. I can fix it. I won’t do this again. Sure, there’ll be a few late nights; it’s a big company and my job is big as it is – but I won’t do this again.”  
“Do what?”  
“What?” She frowned at him.  
“I want you to acknowledge what you did, Clarke,” he said, looking over at her. His face was more serious than Clarke liked, and she nodded. She sat up and reached over, taking one of his hands in her own and lacing their fingers together.  
“In the future, I’m not going to spend so many late nights at the office. I’m going to work harder on our relationship – show you how much you mean to me, how much I want this to work. I’m going to fix this, Bell, I promise.”  
Bellamy sat up a moment later, and the two of them leant against the head board, looking at their hands.  
“I believe you,” he said quietly, his voice soft. She wondered if he really did, but wasn’t going to push her luck. This was as good as Clarke was going to get.  
After a second, she looked over and pressed her lips to his cheek; stubble scraping at her skin.   
“Thank you,” she nodded, and that was that. The world was still spinning too quickly for Clarke, but she wasn’t going to let this break her, break them. She supposed that sometimes you could only see the match you had held in your hand when looking back at the bonfire it created. But, she still had a chance for the future – to recognise when she was going to start fires, and put them out before they burnt down everything Bellamy and Clarke had worked for.

\--

Clarke didn’t see Bellamy for two weeks, and when she did once more, it was when she returned to pick up her things.

\--

Clarke ran into Niylah, her high school girlfriend, only a week and a half after she left her and Bellamy’s place. Niylah pressed her lips against Clarke’s, and they sunk into each other, clawing at the others skin for some sort of comfort they couldn’t give each other.

\--

Clarke was hiding out at Raven’s, and the two of them each downed two bottles of wine before cracking open the hard liquor. When it was three AM, and the two girls could only see blurs, Clarke crashed her mouth against Raven’s, searching rather than kissing. The two of them curled around each other, limbs like branches, and bodies rooting together.  
Even though they were ten steps past drunk, Raven pulled away to stare at her. “If we do this, there’s no going back,” she slurred. “If we do this, this is it for us. It’s us, for good.”  
Clarke grinned and kissed her again.

\--

“If we do this, this is it for us. It’s us, for good.”  
Clarke pulled away, and tears poured down her face without warning as she shook her head.

\--

Clarke woke up in Bellamy’s arms, even after the fight.  
Even after everything.  
They woke up together because it was who they were; they were Bellamy and Clarke, they were a whole, and alone they were just parts.  
They went through the motions to fixing themselves. Clarke left work at the office, and came home to cook dinner and watch TV shows, and-  
Clarke began to paint again.  
“I’ve never seen you paint before,” Bellamy remarked, leaning on the doorway to their spare room. It was their office, where Bellamy would mark papers, and bookshelves lined the walls. But there was an empty half, that Clarke never filled. Now it held easels and paints; canvases she took from her uptown storage locker.  
Bellamy wandered through the room, giving each painting his undivided attention.  
“I haven’t painted in a long time,” Clarke said at last, when he reached her at her easel. She wore only one of his old t-shirts, that she found at the back of a drawer. It was now covered in drips of paint, as were her arms and legs.  
“Why not?” Bellamy stared at the canvas she was working on; the basis drawn in, but the colours only half added. There were lots of mute browns and greens, with sudden flashes of blue.  
“I don’t know.”

\--

“Why not?”  
Clarke swallowed, staring at the painting. She was working on the dark curly hair, and it was clear that Bellamy had realised that she was painting him; that he was her muse.  
“It never felt right.”

\--

“Why not?”  
Clarke looked over to Bellamy, watching his eyes study her painting.  
“Because I let work become a priority,” she admitted. His eyes darted to her now. It had only been a few weeks since the argument, and sometimes it still felt like they were treading on thin ice. “Don’t get me wrong,” she continued, gently placing down her palette and paintbrush on the side table. “I love my job. I love working with bio-tech, and I love, like, sixty percent of the people there.” Bellamy smiled, faintly. “But I let it become my only thing; I let it take everything else away from me.”  
Bellamy said nothing, and Clarke carefully reaching out a hand, trailing the backs of her nails up his skin, before catching his hand in her own.  
“I let it take art away from me. Art used to be who I was; it used to mean everything to me. And you- I let my work take you, too.” She smiled lightly. “I won’t let it happen again.”

\--

Octavia and Lincoln returned from their honeymoon, and things felt okay again. It was slow and steady, but Clarke found her balance. She worked until five and then went home, she texted Bellamy angry emoticons during meetings with Cage, and she got back to their apartment in time for dinner.  
“Are you thinking about marriage yet?” Octavia asked Clarke as they sat at an outdoor café. Clarke shrugged.  
“I’m thinking about just repairing us, right now.”

\--

“Are you thinking about marriage yet?”  
“Maybe one day.”

\--

“Are you thinking about marriage yet?”  
“I don’t know, O,” she replied. “I don’t think it’s the next step.”  
“No? Then what is?”  
“I think it’s us being at a point where I don’t have to actively choose to put him first – I want to get to that point where it’s automatic again, you know?”  
Octavia nodded, sipping at her coffee.  
“I know,” she agreed. “I don’t think it’s something you can force though. I think it’s something that you notice one day – like, oh, hold on, this is my person, and they mean everything to me.”  
“Is that what it was like with you and Lincoln?” Clarke asked. Octavia nodded.  
“One day it was just me thinking, I really, really like this guy, the next I realised that I would do anything for him. Maybe for some people, it just takes a few years – we all move at our own rates, Clarky.”

\--

Bellamy and Clarke stared up at the ceiling, as they lay in bed. Their fingers were tangled together under the sheets, but in the darkness, they just took the moment to breathe.  
“Parallel universes,” Clarke said, breaking the silence. “Ever heard of them?” Bellamy nodded.  
“Just more of this,” he said. “Loads and loads of them. Poor bastards.” Clarke smiled, glancing over, before looking back to the ceiling. A few days before, they’d stuck glow in the dark stars, planets and space ships up there, decorating the surface with their very own galaxy. They’d laughed a lot in that moment, Clarke having to jump on the bed to reach the ceiling, and Bellamy just holding up his arm and touching it.  
“Monty researched it for a long time,” she continued. “That each universe is slightly different from the next. In one universe, we never met. In the next, we met but didn’t like each other. In the next, we liked each other but not enough to make it past the first date, you know?” Bellamy nodded slowly.  
“In one universe, your car never broke down on the way to our first date. In another, I never even called you to get your skirt fixed.”  
“Exactly.”  
“What does that mean?” Bellamy whispered, staring up at the glowing green stickers.  
“It means that there’s a universe where we did everything right,” she replied quietly. “Where we met and that was it; we were happy and perfect together. Where I never risked us for a promotion, where we never got angry, where you never got distant.”  
“A universe where everything went perfectly,” Bellamy smiled. Clarke nodded. “So there’s also a universe where it went awfully?”  
“I imagine so. Universes where we broke up, or broke up and got back together. Universes where we loved other people, or loved no one ever again. Universes where we did everything wrong.”  
“We’re not in those ones, though, right?”   
“No,” Clarke whispered. “We’re not. We’re in a universe where things didn’t go right, but we made them. We’re in the universe where we persevered through the bad parts, to make it to the good.” Bellamy turned to her, and she could faintly see the outline of his features through the dark. He pressed a slow and gentle kiss against her lips, before pulling away.  
“I like this universe,” he promised her. “This is the universe where we’re together. Maybe we aren’t in others, maybe we are – but this one, this is ours.” Clarke smiled widely, pulling him back in for another kiss.  
This one was theirs.

\--

“Do you, Clarke Amelia Griffin, take Bellamy Bradbury Blake to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?”  
“I do.”

\--

“Do you, Bellamy Bradbury Blake, take Clarke Amelia Griffin to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?”  
“I do.”

\--

Yeah, this one was theirs.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this, although it was definitely the most difficult piece I've ever written. Please click the kudos button if you liked it, and drop me a comment! I really want to know what you thought about it all! Thanks!


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